Politics meddling with women's health

It took a wannabe Senate candidate from Missouri, Rep. Todd Akin, to bring a meaningful discussion of women's rights, and health in general, to the table. By suggesting there is something called "legitimate rape," the issue of control of women's reproduction is now at the forfront of discussion. But this is not the only issue on the table. Health care for a majority of American citizens is also threatened.

Many of us remember when women won the right to abortion in 1973 as a result of the Supreme Court case, Roe vs. Wade. Planned Parenthood, an organization which long predated this decision, was created to help families make sensible and "planned" decisions regarding offspring. The philosophy behind it was that every child we bring into this world deserves the best we can offer them. The point, in the end, is not how many children we produce, but how well we raise the ones we do. This perspective has proven itself true over and over again.

The right of women to make their own health care decisions, including reproductive decisions, is being challenged at both national and local levels. The idea of "legitimate" rape may have been simply misinformation on Rep. Akin's part, that women can somehow fend off pregnancy when they are under attack. This has been shown to be false. However, it does open up a bigger subject for the community.

Recently, a friend was denied a tubal ligation at a local hospital. She was having her fourth child, had high blood pressure and was showing signs of "brittle" diabetes. Permission for a tubal ligation, which would prevent future pregnancies, had to come from the hospital performing the procedure. This was finally granted because of her extreme health needs.

However, for emergency reasons, the birth of her child through caesarean section was moved to an earlier date. The tubal ligation was not permitted as a result, since permission had not been granted for the procedure on that particular date. Decisions about her choice to have a tubal ligation were being made for her, at some higher level of administration.

Fortunately, this friend delivered successfully and has a healthy son. She will do what she can to prevent further pregnancies, which would put her life at risk, and open the possibility of leaving her four young children without a mother.

As hard as we try, we won't be able to control reproduction. This happens in a mysterious way. We also can't escape from the fact that we have responsibility for the men, women and children already born in our community. When people holding Rep. Akin's views pay as much time and attention to the born as they do the unborn, then maybe some will listen. Until then, it only sounds like another power grab. Call the club anything you want; add gender, race, religion, whatever. As Groucho Marx once put it, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." Perhaps we would all benefit from his wisdom at this time.

The Rev. Eric Duff is an Episcopal priest and licensed clinical social worker who writes this column for the Times-Standard, and can be reached at Eric6017@suddenlink.net.